Casino poker game

ABSTRACT

The poker game utilizes a single standard fifty-two card deck of playing cards. A dealer deals three cards face down to each poker player. Thereafter, the dealer deals four cards face up on the poker table. Each of the four face up cards are community cards which are available for use by any of the players to form a poker hand. The poker game includes five rounds of betting in which a round of betting is held after the three cards are dealt to each player, and after each of the community cards are dealt upon the table, respectively. After the seventh card has been dealt (the fourth community card) and the fifth round of betting has been completed, a player utilizes a combination of down cards and community cards to form the best five card hand. Hands are then ranked in standard poker fashion to determine a winner.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part application of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/041,599 filed on Apr. 2, 2008.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a poker game played with a conventional deck of cards. A conventional deck of cards includes four suits (spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds) having thirteen cards each totaling fifty-two cards per deck. Often times, two additional joker cards are included in the deck. The present invention concerns the manner in which cards are dealt to the players and the manner in which players use the cards to form winning poker hands.

There are a wide variety of poker games being played around the world. These poker games include Five Card Stud, Five Card Draw, Seven Card Stud, Texas Hold'em, and Omaha among many, many others. Typically, a single winner is determined by having the highest poker hand. Hands are ranked in standard poker fashion, namely Royal Flush, Straight Flush, Four of a Kind, Full House, Flush, Straight, Three of a Kind, Two Pair, One Pair, and High Card, in descending order.

Texas Hold'em is played by dealing each player two cards face down. Thereafter, five community cards are dealt face up by first dealing a three card “flop”, a “turn” card, and a “river” card. The term “community card” refers to a card that is exposed (face up) and available for use by any of the players in order to form a poker hand. In Texas Hold'em, each player is then able to use seven cards including the two cards dealt to him and the five community cards available to each player.

In Texas Hold'em, betting occurs during various pauses in the deal. Usually after two face down cards have been dealt, a first round of betting is held. A second round of betting is typically held after the first three community cards have been dealt. Thereafter, rounds of betting are conducted after the fourth and fifth community cards have been dealt. Thus, Texas Hold'em typically includes four rounds of betting, though an ante and/or blind bets may be required prior to any of the cards being dealt.

Unfortunately, Texas Hold'em has numerous problems. For example, each player has to guess only two of the cards of each opponent, specifically the first two cards dealt face down to each player. One raise in the betting can often indicate that a person has a concealed pair which will often times drive other players out of the game. Another problem with Texas Hold'em is that only four rounds of betting are typically conducted. Conversely, many betters desire the additional action and bigger pots provided by more rounds of betting.

Seven Card Stud poker also suffers from various drawbacks. Seven Card Stud is played by first dealing each player two cards face down and one card face up. Thereafter, each player is dealt three cards, consisting of cards 4-6, which are dealt face up. Finally the seventh and last card is dealt to each player face down. Rounds of betting are typically conducted after the third up card, fourth up card, fifth up card, sixth up card, and the final seventh down card are dealt.

A drawback of Seven Card Stud poker is that it does not incorporate a dealing of community cards which are desired by many poker players. Furthermore, the dealing of a down card at the end of the game makes the game incredibly unpredictable. Oftentimes, poker players desire to understand the strengths and weaknesses of their hand early in the game so that they can bet accordingly. Conversely, Seven Card Stud can result in a bad hand or marginal playing hand becoming very strong only after the seventh down card has been dealt. Conversely, strong hands can become unpredictably weak only after the seventh card has been dealt. This results in players staying in too long or folding too early when they may have had a winning hand because their hand did not suggest strength. Furthermore, the unpredictability of the last card causes betting to be unpredictable and not always particularly representative of a person's hand which can be undesirable to experienced poker players.

Seven Card Stud is also complicated in that players fold their “up” cards when folding their hands. Players try to gain an advantage by attempting to remember the folded cards to determine the strengths of their hand and the hands of other players. Unfortunately, it can be difficult for players to see, and thus remember, cards dealt to players at the other end of a table. Further, some players do not wish to memorize cards or otherwise have poor memories, thus putting themselves at a disadvantage and thus making the game less desirable.

There is thus a need for an improved poker game which provides more action, particularly in providing many rounds of betting.

There is also a need for an improved poker game which provides bigger pots.

In addition, there is a need for an improved poker game which appeals to both novice and expert players.

There is still an additional need for an improved poker game employing a community card format.

It would also be desirable to provide an improved poker game that did not require the complexity of memorizing folded “up” cards.

Finally, there is a need for an improved stud poker game which is fast and easy for dealers and players which will result in more hands being played per hour and more profits for casinos.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention addresses the aforementioned disadvantages by providing an improved poker game. The poker game of the present invention is ideal for casino game play, but may also be played on a computer in a video poker game format. The name of the poker game of the present invention is Texas Stud Poker.

The poker game is played with a standard deck of fifty-two conventional playing cards, preferably but not necessarily with no jokers. The game may be played with or without an initial ante. However, it is preferred that the game be played without an initial ante, and instead is played with a big blind and a small blind. The poker players designated the small blind and big blind are required to bet, and thus put money into the pot, before the start of the hand. The small blind bet is one-half of the amount of the big blind bet. Subsequent players making an initial bet must bet at least the amount of the big blind.

The dealer sequentially deals three cards face down to each person. The players look at their cards, without showing them, and preferably a first round of betting is conducted. In the event that the poker game is being played with blind bets, the person to the left of the big blind is the first person to act. He has the choice of folding, calling, or raising. After the first person acts, each player sequentially around the table then decides to fold, call or raise. Later rounds of betting are conducted in a similar manner; however, players may also “check”. A person who “checks” is indicating that he wishes to remain in the hand, but does not want to place a bet. In the event that another player in the round of betting places a bet, the checking player must “call” by betting the amount bet by the other player to remain in the hand.

After the first round of betting is completed, the dealer deals a fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh card face up on the table. Each of these face up cards are community cards, and thus they are considered part of each player's hand. Preferably rounds of betting are held after each of the community cards are dealt face up. These betting rounds constitute the second, third, fourth and fifth rounds of betting.

After the fifth round of betting has been completed, the winner of the hand is determined. The winner is the player having the best five card poker hand of each player's seven cards. Each player's cards include the three hidden cards in their hand as well as the four community cards on the table. For example, if a player has an ace within his three hidden cards, and one of the four community cards is an ace, then the player has a pair of aces. Likewise, if another player has a different ace in their hand, then they also have a pair of aces. The player with the best five card poker hand wins.

Advantages of the present poker game are that it is easily understandable, easy to play, and results in quick dealing and fast game play.

An additional advantage of the present invention is that it provides for five rounds of betting.

Yet another advantage of the present invention is that the poker game captures most of the most popular features of the two most popular poker games, namely Texas Hold'em and Seven Card Stud.

Another advantage of the present poker game is that it provides players with more information at the beginning of the game than many prior art poker games thereby promoting fast play and limiting folding.

These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art but the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating the poker game of the present invention employing the use of blind bets;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating the poker game of the present invention without the use of blind bets;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of a casino poker table illustrating the poker game of the present invention after the dealer has dealt three down cards to each player and a first round of betting has been completed;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of a casino poker table illustrating the poker game of the present invention after the dealer has dealt three down cards and one community card to each player and a second round of betting has been completed;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of a casino poker table illustrating the poker game of the present invention after the dealer has dealt three down cards and two community cards to each player and a third round of betting has been completed;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a casino poker table illustrating the poker game of the present invention after the dealer has dealt three down cards and three community cards to each player and a fourth round of betting has been completed;

FIG. 7 is a top plan view of a casino poker table illustrating the poker game of the present invention after the dealer has dealt three down cards and fourth, and last, community card to each player and a final fifth round of betting has been completed; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating three poker players playing the poker game of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

While the present invention is susceptible of embodiment in various forms, as shown in the drawings, hereinafter will be described the presently preferred embodiments of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the invention, and is not intended to limit the invention to specific embodiments illustrated.

With reference to FIGS. 1-8, the poker game of the present invention is preferably played with a standard fifty-two card deck 3 with ten or less players 11 on a standard casino poker table 7. Though not necessary, the poker game preferably utilizes a player-dealer button 9, also commonly referred to as a “Texas Stud button”. This dealer button designates the player to last receive cards 1 on the initial deal. This player also has the right of last action after the first betting round. Preferably the dealer button rotates clockwise after each game.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the poker game requires that the dealer deliver three cards 1 face down to each player 11 starting with the player to the left of the dealer button 9. Thereafter, a first round of betting is conducted in which the players have the option to fold, call or raise. Bets and raises are made by placing betting chips into a central pot 5. After the initial action, subsequent players must either match a bet (call), forfeit their hand (fold), or increase the bet (raise).

As illustrated in FIG. 4, after the first round of betting, the dealer burns one card, in which he takes the top card and discards it, and then delivers one card 1 face up on the table 7. After this fourth card, in the form of a first community card, has been dealt, a second round of betting is conducted as described above.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a third betting round is held after the dealer burns a card 1 and deals a fifth card, in the form of a second community card, which is dealt face up on the table 7. Similarly, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a fourth betting round is held after the dealer burns still an additional card and deals a sixth card, in the form of a third community card, face up on the table 7. After the fourth round of betting, the dealer burns still an additional card by discarding it and deals the final seventh card face up on the table which is the fourth community card. A fifth and final round of betting is conducted as illustrated in FIG. 7.

After the final round of betting is held, the players that remain must use a combination of down cards and community cards to form the best hand possible. Preferably, each player must use at least one of their down cards in their hand so that playing the board is not permitted. The winner is determined by whichever active player has been dealt the best five card poker hand after the seventh card (fifth community card) has been dealt and the final round of betting has been completed, or by a player being the only active player left in a hand. Hands are ranked in standard poker fashion of: 1) Royal Flush; 2) Straight Flush; 3) Four of a Kind; 4) Full House; 5) Flush; 6) Straight; 7) Three of a Kind; 8) Two Pair; 9) One Pair; and 10) High Card. The winner is awarded all of the chips in the pot 5.

The poker game of the present invention may or may not employ blind bets. For example, FIG. 1 is a flow chart illustrating play of the poker game wherein blind bets are made prior to players looking at their cards. As illustrated in FIGS. 3-8, a person to the left of the dealer button is considered in the small blind, and the next person on the left is considered in the big blind. A person in the small blind and in the big blind are required to make initial bets thereby putting money into the pot before the first cards are dealt. The small blind is one-half of the amount of the big blind. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the game may be played without blinds in which the initial bets are made during the first round of betting which occurs after three cards have been dealt to each player.

While several particular forms of the invention have been illustrated and described, it will be apparent that various additional modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, though not illustrated in the figures, the poker game may be incorporated within a video poker console. Within a video console format, the betting may be limited, such as to a initial ante, and to only a single player playing against a computer. For video poker play, winnings may be calculated based upon the strength of the hand. In addition, jokers may or may not be utilized, though poker play without jokers is believed to be more desirable.

Furthermore, the poker game may be played in a “no limit” style or a “limit” style of game play. Within a no limit game, players are permitted to bet any amount, thus with no limit. No limit games may also allow for an unlimited number of raises. Conversely, within limit games, players are permitted to only bet a “capped” amount. Typically the number of raises is limited to three raises per betting round. Furthermore, in limit play, an “all in bet” (in which a player bets all of his/her remaining money on the table) of less than half a bet does not reopen the betting for any player who has already acted, and thus the player is in the pot for all previous bets. However, limit games typically provide for an “all in bet” of half the capped bet or more being treated as a full bet, and other players may fold, call or make a full raise. Limit games may also allow the “limit” of the bet to be increased in later betting rounds in which the smaller limit bets in early rounds are commonly referred as “small bets” and the increased limit bets in the later rounds are commonly referred to as “big bets”. In a preferred embodiment of the poker game of the present invention employing limit play, betting limits in the first two rounds are limited to small bets and betting limits in the 3^(rd) through 5^(th) rounds of betting are limited to big bets. Simplified casino instructions for the poker game may read as follows.

NO LIMIT 1st round Three cards dealt face down 1st bet 2nd round 1st center card dealt face up 2nd bet 3rd round 2nd center card dealt face up 3rd bet 4th round 3rd center card dealt face up 4th bet 5th round 4th center card dealt face up 5th bet

LIMIT 1st round Three cards dealt face down Small bet 2nd round 1st center card dealt face up Small bet 3rd round 2nd center card dealt face up Big bet 4th round 3rd center card dealt face up Big bet 5th round 4th center card dealt face up Big bet

Since still additional modifications of the poker game may be made, it is not intended that the invention be limited except by the following claims. Having described my invention in such terms so as to enable a person skilled in the art to understand the invention, recreate the invention and practice it, and having presently identified the presently preferred embodiments thereof, I claim: 

1. A poker game played with playing cards comprising the steps of: dealing a first card face down to one or more players; dealing a second card face down to one or more players; dealing a third card face down to one or more players; dealing fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh cards face up, wherein the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh cards are community cards are useable by the one or more players in the hand to form a five card poker hand; and one or more players in the hand exposing their three face down cards to determine which player has a winning five card poker hand, wherein each hand comprises three cards dealt to each player plus the four community cards.
 2. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 1 further comprising the steps of: conducting a first round of betting after the first, second and third cards have been dealt face down to the one or more players, but prior to the fourth card being dealt; conducting a second round of betting after the first, second and third face down cards and after the fourth card have been dealt to the one or more players, but prior to the fifth card being dealt; conducting a third round of betting after the first, second and third face down cards and after the fourth and fifth cards have been dealt to the one or more players, but prior to the sixth card being dealt; conducting a fourth round of betting after the first, second and third face down cards and after the fourth, fifth and sixth cards have been dealt to the one or more players, but prior to the seventh card being dealt; and conducting a fifth round of betting after the first, second and third face down cards and the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh cards have been dealt to the one or more players, but prior to the one or more players exposing their three face down cards to determine which player has a winning five card poker hand.
 3. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 1 wherein the cards are dealt by a computer and displayed upon a computer screen.
 4. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 1 wherein cards are dealt to a plurality of poker players and one of the hands is dealt to a dealer.
 5. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 2 wherein cards are dealt to a plurality of poker players and one of the hands is dealt to a dealer.
 6. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 1 wherein the playing cards consist of a 52 card deck.
 7. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 1 wherein the playing cards consist of a 52 card plus two joker deck.
 8. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 1 wherein the winner is determined by standard poker ranking with hands being ranked by royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pairs, a pair and high card, in descending order.
 9. A poker game played with playing cards comprising the steps of: dealing a first card face down to two or more players; dealing a second card face down to two or more players; dealing a third card face down to two or more players; conducting a first round of betting after the first, second and third cards have been dealt face down to the two or more players, but prior to a fourth card being dealt; dealing a fourth card face up, wherein the fourth card is a “community” card useable by the two or more players; conducting a second round of betting after the first, second and third face down cards and after the fourth card have been dealt to the two or more players, but prior to a fifth card being dealt; dealing a fifth card face up, wherein the fifth card is a community card useable by the two or more players; conducting a third round of betting after the first, second and third face down cards and after the fourth and fifth cards have been dealt to the two or more players, but prior to a sixth card being dealt; dealing a sixth card face up, wherein the sixth card is a community card useable by the two or more players; conducting a fourth round of betting after the first, second and third face down cards and after the fourth, fifth and sixth cards have been dealt to the two or more players, but prior to a seventh card being dealt; and dealing a seventh card face up, wherein the seventh card is a community card useable by the two or more players; conducting a fifth round of betting after the first, second and third face down cards and the fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh cards have been dealt to the two or more players, but prior to the two or more players exposing their three face down cards to determine which player has a winning five card poker hand; and two or more players in the hand exposing their three face down cards to determine which player has a winning five card poker hand, wherein each hand comprises three cards dealt to each player plus the four community cards.
 10. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 9 herein the cards are dealt by a computer and displayed upon a computer screen.
 11. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 9 wherein cards are dealt to a plurality of poker players and one of the hands is dealt to a dealer.
 12. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 9 herein the playing cards consist of a 52 card deck.
 13. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 9 wherein the playing cards consist of a 52 card plus two joker deck.
 14. The poker game played with playing cards of claim 9 wherein the winner is determined by standard poker ranking with hands being ranked by royal flush, straight flush, four of a kind, full house, flush, straight, three of a kind, two pairs, a pair and high card, in descending order. 